GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Grand Rapids Griffins, in partnership with Michigan Office Solutions (MOS) and Pepsi, will hold a Water for Flint collection drive at their game on Wednesday, April 13, asking fans to donate cases of water for our neighbors in need on the east side of the state.

Fans can donate water in any of four ways:

• Bring one or more cases to the Pepsi station on the Fulton Street plaza in front of Van Andel Arena from 5-7 p.m. on April 13. Please refer to the water donation guidelines listed here or detailed below;
• Purchase water from the Pepsi station at a cost of $5 per case;
• Make an online donation in any multiple of $5;
• Those not attending the April 13 game can also drop off water at the MOS corporate office (2859 Walkent Drive NW / M-F 9 a.m.-5 p.m.) now through April 12.

For every case that is donated or purchased in person on April 13, Pepsi will provide a coupon redeemable for a free Pepsi fountain drink at that night’s Griffins game against the Lake Erie Monsters.

The Griffins, MOS and Pepsi are together donating 648 cases (nine pallets) of water to the effort, with Griffins players and coaches contributing 50 of those cases. With each case containing two dozen 16.9-oz. bottles, the combined efforts of these three partners alone will provide more than 2,050 gallons of water for Flint.

All water will be loaded onto an MOS truck as it is donated on April 13 then given to Food Bank of Eastern Michigan for distribution to Flint residents.

With their playoff hopes hanging in the balance, tonight’s game – in a building that hasn’t been very kind in recent years to the Wings – is extremely important if they are to reach the postseason for a 25th consecutive season.

“They’ve been crucial now for a while,” Howard said of the games. “We’ve been down a little bit with our starts as of late but we have to find a way to start on time. That’s starting here tonight (and) from here on out.”

Scoring has been an issue all season for the Wings, however, they have gone the past five games, and 11 of the last 14, without scoring in the first period.

“All you can do is go out and play great hockey,” coach Jeff Blashill said. “That’s all you can do. Do we want to get the first goal? Absolutely. Would we like to get the second goal? Absolutely. But what you need to do is from the drop of the puck for 60 straight minutes is play great hockey.”

The Wings are 14-16-9 when scoring in the first period this season. But they’re 19-9-3 when they have scored in the opening period.

“It’s tough. It’s a tough league to come back against teams,” Justin Abdelkader said. “I think you see team’s records when they’re leading after the first, even the second period, it’s really good. So you try to get the lead, or at least try to play a strong game and a strong start to the game.

“Scoring is big but not allowing teams to get up a couple of goals on you is also big.”

Updated 7x at 1:52 PM: The Red Wings face a must-win situation as they face off against the Columbus Blue Jackets this evening (7 PM EDT on FSD/FS Ohio/97.1 FM), and for whatever reason, John Tortorella holds his game-day presser during the morning skate.

ColumbusBlueJackets.com's Rob Mixer reports that Oliver Bjorkstrand, Michael Chaput and John Ramage will be in the lineup...

Coreau, 24, has won each of his last six starts, helping the Griffins to a 12-game winning streak overall, the second-best run in franchise history. Since his streak start on Feb. 23, Coreau has a 0.99 goals-against average, 0.967 save percentage, three shutouts and established a new Grand Rapids franchise record for saves in a shutout performance after stopping all 45 shots he faced in a 4-0 win over the Chicago Wolves on March 13. The third-year pro ranks as one of the AHL’s top goalies this season, currently sitting second with 29 wins, third with a 2.15 goals-against average and tied for second with a 0.931 save percentage and six shutouts. Coreau was also the CCM/AHL Goaltender of the Month for December after posting a 9-2-0 record, 1.92 goals-against average and 0.938 save percentage, part of his season-best 11-game winning streak that ran from Nov. 18 to Dec. 26. In 72 games with the Griffins since 2013-14, the Perth, Ontario native owns a 45-22-3 record, 2.28 goals-against average, 0.927 save percentage and nine shutouts.

In the bigger picture, three years down the road, what will these two franchises be?

The Red Wings will be in a sparkling new arena, but with Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg and Niklas Kronwall aging, what will the product on the ice be like? There is potential star talent there – Dylan Larkin and Petr Mrazek are certainly promising. But what about filling out the rest of the roster?

Will Drummond even be with the Pistons? Will the decision to place so much into the hands of Jackson be considered a mistake or a brilliant move by Van Gundy?

Both franchises, with such proud not-so-distant pasts, are clearly on the bubble.

And that goes not only for this year, but the foreseeable future, as well.

Kal: Of course. I was at Michigan when the Sharks job came up when they were first in the league. I sent a tape and resume and never heard back. Not even a note saying 'Thanks a lot.' I figured when I tried to apply (in Detroit) there were so many other people that were probably more qualified than me and I didn't think I had a chance but I did it just to throw my hat in the ring and luckily enough, I think what really helped me out is at that time The Joe was really into college hockey and I had a college background. We had CCHA championships so I think maybe that helped me out because they were looking for somebody who knew the CCHA. That's what I'm thinking. Nobody ever told me that.

Updated 2x at 1:45 AM with a note from Joe Hicketts and a profile of Chase Perry:

Of prospect-related note:

In playoff action, in the SHL, Axel Holmstrom scored the 5-1 goal and had an assist in Skelleftea AIK's playoff-opening 6-1 win over HV71. Holmstrom played 10:29, winning 71% of his faceoffs, and he finished at +2 (click on the link for highlights);

The Red Wings will sit outside the playoff picture when they battle the Columbus Blue Jackets (7 PM EDT on FSD/FS Ohio/97.1 FM) as the Flyers defeated Chicago on Wednesday night. If that isn't enough motivation to take their frustration out on the Jackets, last week's wretched 5-3 loss in Columbus should serve as enough motivation to ensure that the Wings come out flying tonight.

The Red Wings are in the middle of a 4-game road trip, and have lost 2 straight games, too;

Columbus will be playing the 4th game of a 5-game home stand, and they've lost two games as well, with their most recent defeat coming in the form of a 4-0 loss to Tampa Bay on Sunday, so the Blue Jackets have been stewing for the past four days.

For Columbus, the Wings are a welcome sight: the Blue Jackets have a 10-2-and-2 record over their past 14 games against Detroit, and they've won both of this season's meetings against the Wings.

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